FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Meredith Raimondi
202-544-0344
mraimondi@ncuih.org

The organizations will work together to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

WASHINGTON, DC (January 27, 2020) – The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) and the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) have initiated a partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The goal of the MOU is for the organizations to work together to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

“We are excited to formalize our partnership with the shared goals of improving health for American Indian and Alaska Native communities and particularly our elders. Our elders are valued members of the community. As AI/AN populations in cities continue to grow and our community members age, we are prioritizing future efforts to improve outcomes for all Native elders and their families,” said Executive Director Francys Crevier.

“The needs of our elders exist; healthcare disparities exist; access to needed services exist and have deleterious effects on our elders.  With the demographic shift that is occurring for the past decade, this agreement reflects our respective concerns for the preservation of native languages, traditions and customs by advocating for services to our native elders,”  said Executive Director Larry Curley.

As collaborators, NCUIH and NICOA will be able to provide educational opportunities, knowledge tools and resources for Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) and the AI/AN communities we all serve. NCUIH will work to support NICOA’s efforts for the development and expansion of culturally-competent care for AI/ANs living in urban areas. NCUIH will support NICOA’s efforts and vice versa to increase their voice and visibility with and among change agents and organizations instrumental to urban Indian healthcare. Both organizations will collaborate on Elder initiatives, an AI/AN healthcare education pathway, and workforce development. Other projects will include data collection, evaluation and reports focused on different education levels in urban Indian communities and education systems. Finally, this partnership will work on eliminating/reducing health disparities across Indian Country, through education, programmatic activities, and policy change strategies.

By Meredith Raimondi, posted on Monday January 27, 2020